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  Middle school kids are filled with energy, and what better opportunity for them to expend their energy than through physical education games. Learning through game-playing is easily pulled off, too, as students partake in games that require muscular activities with running for cards, choosing among doors that dictate physical activities and give prizes, playing basketball in stations to score points and rolling dice.
  
  

Speed Walk, Power Walk

• Students are instructed to run, walk or jog around a track or a scenic route around the school, such as a garden or parking lot. When they finish a complete loop or circle, they receive a card. Students with the most cards get a prize. Add some variation by giving them a ball, such as a football, to run with after finishing two or three loops, to receive a special "run with" card when finished for a higher prize.
  
  

Door Number One, Door Number Two

• Similar to the game Let's Make a Deal, teachers create physical exercises for students with a specific muscle and body focus such as upper body, lower body, flexibility or cardiovascular. A fitness activity is planted behind each door. Each student takes a turn as "contestant" to come up and choose a door. When the door opens, the prize is revealed, and students must perform the activity as instructed in order to receive the prize. Prizes can be "no math homework tonight," a certificate to a local business establishment, or a healthy treat. Activities can include, for example, push-ups, skipping for 45 seconds, jogging for 60 seconds, or running in place.
  
  

Basketball Stations

• In groups of three, students rotate for two minutes to various basketball stations to record scores at each spot. Stations can include Chest Pass, where students stand 10 to 15 feet away from each other and pass back-and-forth to count the number of passes made in two minutes and record them. Another station can include Dribbling, where students dribble back-and-forth one at a time, counting the number of times they cross a specific line in two minutes. Other stations can include Shoots and Hoops, where students shoot as many baskets as they can in two minutes.
  
  

Roll the Die for Fitness

• Students write down an idea for a fitness activity. The teacher assigns a number to each activity, pools all ideas into a pile and then randomly mixes them up. Students take turns rolling die and select a card that corresponds to the die number from the pile. They must perform the activity or exercise on the back of the card. It might have them do a "Simon says..." or "Run in place for 30 seconds while touching your nose." A few cards should be "Take a break" cards, equivalent to "Get out of Jail Free" so that students can occasionally receive a break from an activity. Students will have fun playing out the activities of their classmates' invention while watching their own creations play out as well.